Charm Me
by wordsofawitheringwriter
Summary: hogwarts!au where every so often Hogwarts calls for a "house swap" where basically one student from each House is randomly selected to spend a month amongst new housemates. Lucy Heartfilia, star pupil of Ravenclaw, has been selected to spend her time with Gryffindor, which would have been okay (bearable, at least) had it not been for one boy in particular…
1. Chapter 1

**summary:** hogwarts!au where every so often Hogwarts calls for a "house swap" where basically one student from each House is randomly selected to spend a month amongst new housemates. Lucy Heartfilia, star pupil of Ravenclaw, has been selected to spend her time with Gryffindor, which _would_ have been okay (bearable, at least) had it not been for one boy in particular… and _what_ is it about the way he sneaks around like he does?

 **a/n: a little fairy that goes by the username shippersaurus requested a hogwarts!au for** **nalu and honestly... who am I to resist?**

 **disclaimer: I most definitely do not own a single aspect of either of these franchises**

* * *

Lucy didn't quite understand the appeal behind a House swap, especially halfway into her fifth year. She had better things to do than watch over hot-headed Gryffindors for an entire _month_ while they went back and forth over who has the larger broomstick, but Flitwick had frowned at her when she said as much after the announcement one night at dinner.

Four students, one from each house, was (unfortunately) selected randomly to "experience new things and understand ones fellow students" by being placed in one of the other three houses.

Needless to say, Lucy Heartfilia was less than thrilled when she was handed the maroon and gold striped scarf the following evening.

"But what about my O.W.L.S? They're coming up soon!" she exclaimed, resisting the urge to cringe at the Lion's House colors. Blue and silver was by far more pleasing to the eye; she didn't want to give it up so easily.

"Miss Heartfilia, the exchange will only last for a month," Professor McGonagall said breezily, her hands locked in front of her waist as she stood poised in front of the girl. "I'm sure a bright young witch such as yourself can keep up with her studies, even in a new surrounding."

"But-but…" she winced, wringing her hands and no doubt wrinkling her new tie. A glimpse of salmon hair and bright, smug green eyes flashed in the young witch's mind. " _He's_ in there."

The professor pursed her lips at the mention of the boy. "I assure you," McGonagall said in a flat tone. "I am only _too_ aware of which House he belongs to. Now gather your things. Gryffindor House is expecting you."

* * *

The Fat Lady was teasing her.

"Come on now, Miss Ravenclaw," the painted woman crowed. "From what I was told, you're nearly the top of your class! Where's that infamous wit I've heard all about?" She laughed a deep, belly laugh. "Or was Knocker simply pulling my leg?"

Lucy was close to pulling her ponytail out in frustration. Getting into the Ravenclaw common room required the answer to a riddle, one that was normally fairly easy to figure out if one only took the time to think about it. But to know a password that changed so often? How was she to know some stupid, most likely made up word?

"I don't know! Please just let me in…" the blonde sunk to her knees, exhausted and just wanting to get the first night in a new room over with.

"I would have figured a bright Ravenclaw would find this easy," came a voice from behind her, causing the girl to grit her teeth hard enough to hurt her jaw.

Not. Him.

"Natsu Dragneel," the Fat Lady chastised. "I've tried so hard to make this difficult for our new guest, so don't you go ruining my fun. Oh, now, don't look at me like that, dear," she told Lucy's distraught expression. The woman's eyes looked kind, at the very least. "I've just always wanted the satisfaction of stumping a Ravenclaw, is all."

"Oi now, Fat Lady, what'd the poor Raven ever do to you?"

They were _both_ teasing her, Lucy realized. The very sight of Natsu Dragneel was enough to make the girl want to run in the opposite direction, but to have him make fun of her in front of her face?

She'd sooner spend a night with Mira in the Shrieking Shack.

"Get outta here, Dragneel," she sneered, not realizing how not-threatening she looked considering she was still kneeling on the ground in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. "I can figure this out on my own."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the boy putting up his hands in mock defense.

Always teasing her.

"Whatever you say, Lucy. I was gonna offer my assistance, but I suppose Happy can go another hour or so without his dinner." As he passed by, one hand in his pocket, he flicked her ponytail. "See ya around, _roomie_."

The boy flashed her a big 'ol grin as he bid her goodbye, one that might as well have been a big _fuck you_ as a parting gift.

But, as much as that grin enraged the blonde, he was actually leaving… and she was nowhere near close to figuring out the password.

"Wait!" she called out, resisting the urge to kick herself. The last thing she wanted was his help, or rather, giving him the satisfaction of needing his help.

But she'd already been standing in front of the portrait for a solid half hour and Lucy needed inside. She had to get settled in so she could begin working on her History of Magic essay due in the morning before she could even _think_ of working on her novel.

Natsu halted at her plea, turning to look at her over his shoulder. His robes were dark in the dimly lit corridor, and the torches lined on the cobblestone walls only illuminated the green of his eyes and made them stand out all the more.

For one short second that lasted an eternity in Lucy's mind, their eyes locked… and he heard her.

No more teasing.

" _Fairy Lights_ ," he said softly, but loud enough for the Fat Lady to hear.

"Very good, Mister Dragneel," the painted woman praised with a hint of pride in her voice. She swung her portrait out in a wide arc for the girl and her trunk of belongings, much to Lucy's delight.

She hated having to owe Natsu anything, especially after what happened in Potions class their first year. But, she had to admit that in this moment, he kind of saved her ass.

"Thanks Natsu-" she said, turning back to look at the boy's no doubt smug appearance, but he was already gone.

"Where'd he go?" Lucy mused softly, a small divot forming between her brows.

"Moves around these halls slick as a snake, that one," the Fat Lady answered, watching the shadows as if waiting for a sign of the boy to emerge. "Half the time he sneaks up on me, even when I've been paying attention! Don't now how he does it."

"Huh," was the only answer the blonde supplied, her eyes following the pathway of torches.

A month in Gryffindor might have just got interesting.

* * *

 **until next time...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2/?**

 **Paring:** Nalu

 **Summary:** hogwarts!au where every so often Hogwarts calls for a "house swap" where basically one student from each House is randomly selected to spend a month amongst new housemates. Lucy Heartfilia, star pupil of Ravenclaw, has been selected to spend her time with Gryffindor, which _would_ have been okay (bearable, at least) had it not been for one boy in particular... and _what_ is it about the way he sneaks around like he does?

 _disclaimer:_ I own no aspect of either of these franchises but GOD do I wish I did

* * *

"For the love of _God_! I mean it, Lucy, I am so over this dumbass House swap!"

Gajeel slammed a heavy fist down on the wooden table, his eruption startling one of the first year students so badly that the spell they'd been practicing on an open library book suddenly backfired and shot soot in their face.

Lucy winced, wanting to suggest that they use their tie to wipe some of the dust from their nose that they'd left, but the first year had already scampered away before she had the chance.

Gajeel wasn't fazed, however, and continued, "I so much as _sneeze_ due to all the damn houseplants in their common room and I'm surrounded by a chorus of 'bless you's' all at the same time! Like they practice that shit in their spare time! And if one more person offers to hug me or, God forbid, ask me if I need help _finding_ anything, I'm gonna hex the-"

"You think _you_ have it bad?" Lucy asked, leaning over her copy of _History of Magic_ that she had been rereading before Gajeel had flopped down at her library table. "I'm stuck in a house with _Natsu_ of all people!"

Which honestly, her implications made the statement sound worse than things really were. Truth was, Lucy had seen more of Natsu's smug face when they _hadn't_ shared a common room.

Come to think of it, she hadn't really had any more major run-ins with him since the night at the portrait.

Noticing his friend was deep in thought, Gajeel tried to slip in a sly remark. "Not to mention that maroon really isn't your color."

Lucy would've made a swipe for her friend's smug face had the thing she was holding been denser than a quill.

"You're one to talk. You look like someone took a stapler to a nest of honey bees and _lost_."

Gajeel cracked a grin. "Don't I know it. The Sorting Hat really did me a favor by not landing me in the Hufflepuff getup full time."

It'd been an entire week since the four selected students had settled in to their temporary homes, and Gajeel's Slytherin roots weren't residing too well in his new abode.

" _Yellow makes me itch_ ," had been his immediate, gruff response to the announcement. Lucy had found it hilarious when her friend later recounted the moment for her, but Snape apparently hadn't been so amused.

"They should just be happy it isn't quidditch season right now," the boy said as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll be damned before I face Slytherin on the badger team."

"What, afraid of some actual competition?" Lucy teased.

"Better off looking somewhere else for that. Slytherin's shit," came a voice from behind the blonde. Lucy would have turned around to see who it was, but Gajeel's glower was telling enough.

 _Speak of the devil, and he shall come_... or, something of that nature.

Lucy sighed, placing her bookmark between the worn pages of her abused copy. Now that the Gryffindor hothead had shown up, it would be pointless trying to carry a conversation with Gajeel afterwards.

Which was obvious, considering her friend was already seething.

"Gryffindor cheated in the Cup finals and you damn well know it!"

Natsu laughed, showing off his sharp canines. His tie was loosened even though it was technically still class hours, and the mud on the soles of his shoes was leaving tiny indentations on the library's carpet. Lucy seemed to be the only one who noticed the mud, however. The boys were still deep in a hot debate over the controversy of the year's final match where Gryffindor had made a major comeback.

"The ref said my block was accidental only," Natsu smirked, gloating as he used the tip of his wand to tap the end of the other boy's nose. "Sorry that losing has damaged your warped perception of reality."

Gajeel batted the wand away and stood. "Your insult doesn't even make any damn sense! And don't just swing your wand around like that!" Lucy could have sworn she saw the dark-haired boy's eye twitch.

"Only Keepers can block shots!" Gajeel continued, gritting his teeth. "Hell, you shouldn't have been by the posts anyway considering the snitch was on the other side of the pitch!"

"You shouldn't have even shot the damn quaffle in the first place! Before you come at me about _my_ position, how about you revisit the rules on how to be a Beater! Shooting quaffles isn't the _Beater's_ place on the pitch!" Natsu turned those dark green eyes on Lucy, a familiar smirk pulling at the edge of his lips as he consulted the newest Gryffindor addition. "Come on, Lucy. Stick up for your _housemate_."

Lucy startled, not expecting to be included in the cat fight. She'd been busy running though spells in her mind, wondering which cast would best clean up the mud that his shoes were leaving. Her wand was already halfway retrieved from her robes when she recollected herself and shot back, "In your dreams."

His eyes fell to her small hand that was gripping the wand and flashed back up to meet her own. He winked, "In my dreams?" his voice was light, teasing. Always teasing. "In that case, I'll see what strings I can pull with Trelawney."

Natsu pushed away from the table before Lucy could make a smart retort, though she wasn't entirely sure if one would have ever come to mind. If a professor were to ask her to conjure up a spell that she was taught all the way back in first year, she could produce. Ask her to come up with a smartass comment after staring directly into those green eyes, and she was a goner.

For whatever reason, those eyes always made her feel as though she'd just consumed an entire keg of butter beer all on her own. He'd somehow slowed the mind of a Ravenclaw, which was no easy feat.

She blamed it on the effects of his mistake in Potions class, back when they were first years.

His robes swished around his ankles as he left the library, waving over his shoulder without looking back.

Gajeel settled back in his chair at the boy's departure, his arms crossed over his broad chest, grumbling, "Bastard. Another reason I should thank the Sorting Hat one of these days for not landing me with him as a housemate."

This was news to Lucy. "What do you mean by that?"

The boy shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Someone made a comment in Dark Arts one day but Snape shut the blabbermouth up before he could get to the good stuff. So," Gajeel leaned forward so that his forearms rested on the table as he faced the blonde. "Tell me about that little blue roommate of yours."

* * *

Levy sighed, letting the book she'd been cradling flop heavily into her lap as a sign of defeat. The house swap might not have affected her directly, but she was slowly starting to lose her sanity.

She'd been friends with Lucy ever since they were second year students, and had initially been thrilled to share a room with someone who could appreciate her ever-growing book collection that the rest of Gryffindor liked to tease her about.

However, Levy had overlooked one small detail in the midst of her little fantasy.

Natsu Dragneel.

Ever since the incident in Potions, Lucy had harbored a heavy grudge towards the boy, which Levy found more and more ridiculous by the day considering she wasn't sure Natsu even remembered it.

The common room was often a pretty hectic place right after dinner, but it was late and most students had already settled in for the night. This time frame was always Levy's favorite because she could nestle up to the fire with her current book and de-stress after a long day.

Sometimes, little and timid first year Wendy would join, resting with her back against the foot of the couch as she sat on the floor and occasionally asked Levy for help with a question on her homework.

Now, Wendy's head whipped around to stare up at the older girl with large, questioning eyes as a heated argument could be heard festering on the other side of the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Guess they're back early tonight," Levy sighed, managing a tired grin.

"Why doesn't Lucy like him?" Wendy asked, frowning slightly. "Natsu's always been nice to everyone."

 _Yes, but he_ likes _her,_ Levy wanted to say. Naively, she had daydreamed that the house swap would mean an opportunity for the two to better get to know the other, and then maybe realize what _she_ had back in third year.

They were _crazy_ about each other.

However, no such luck.

"Come on, Wendy," Levy said, choosing not to answer the girl's question for the time-being. She slipped the book under one arm and rose, taking Wendy's hand in her own as she led the girl to the staircase leading up to the girls' dormitory. "Let's get you ready for bed." _And away from the impending war zone._

 _"_ Levy," the younger girl rolled her eyes. "I'm _twelve_. I know where my trunk is."

"And if Peeves somehow found his way around the barriers?"

The older girl couldn't help but let a giggle slip past her lips as she suddenly had a certain twelve year old latch onto her leg at the mention of the infamous poltergeist.

Levy laughed as Wendy latched onto her leg, and she swatted the younger girl's rear as she chased a squealing Wendy up the staircase.

* * *

 **until next time...**


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n:** thank you guys so much for the support on this story so far! Harry Potter au's are always my favorite to read, so finally writing one has been so fun!

 **disclaimer:** I own nothing

* * *

"Damn Trelawney," Lucy muttered under her breath while stuffing her star chart deeper into her bag. "What's the point of having open office hours if you're never in your damn classroom to begin with?" There was an exam coming up and Lucy needed confirmation on a calculation pertaining to some constellation in a part of the sky that the blonde had yet to familiarize herself with. However, when she'd gone to track down the professor, it was obvious that the woman had probably spooked herself with some old tea leaves again.

 _You're being a bit ridiculous,_ the rational side of her brain tried to tell her as she turned the corner, coming up on the staircases that tended to have a mind of their own.

 _I'll riddikulus you_ , she snapped back.

She finished adjusting the things in her bag and tugged on the end of her ponytail, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she walked along.

 _Shoot,_ she chided herself, _get some sleep for once, Heartfilia. Talking to yourself isn't doing anyone any favors._

The pictures lining the walls were giving her odd looks, to which the blonde pretended that she didn't notice. She didn't have the time to stand around and defend herself against mouthy impressions of Hogwart's past. Her heels clicked beneath the stone floor as she hurried along, growing increasingly frustrated at the complete mess her bag had become over the course of the year. There were old assignments and loose papers stuffed and crumbled and so many _books_! The girl hissed in pain as she sliced her finger on an old flier that she didn't remember ever seeing before. It was a dark, plum purple with gold accent around the corner that was poking out from her copy of _History of Magic_.

She went to pull it out and see what the flier read when suddenly she gasped, the sensation of free-falling causing adrenaline to surge through the witch's body as the floor suddenly gave out from under her.

 _The bloody staircases!_ she realized too late. She hadn't been paying attention and they moved without her notice.

However, the falling sensation lasted no more than a few seconds as the girl gave out a pained _oof!_ when someone grabbed the back of her robes and hauled her back. The momentum caused both of them to lose their balance, and Lucy fell in a tumbled disarray with the stranger that had-quite literally-come out of nowhere.

"Th-thanks," she struggled around the words as she tried to catch her breath, and her cheeks tinged a light pink when she pressed her hands down to give herself leverage to stand, and all she felt was the muscular chest of her savior. The thanks only lasted so long, however, when she lifted her head to properly thank him and was met with that familiar pink mop.

Her eyes narrowed at the boy out of habit. "Thanks," she repeated, this time with much more snark. "Now would you mind letting me go? I feel like a cat that you've grabbed by the scruff of it's neck." She referred to the way he still had a tight grip on the back of her robes, not having loosened his grip at all since saving her.

Natsu frowned at her comparison, but obliged and let the silky material of her robes slip from his hold while mumbling, "Oddly specific."

He sat them both up to sitting positions and Lucy immediately brushed herself off and did what she could to flatten her hair; anything to compose herself and slow the building adrenaline that had released when she nearly went tumbling to what almost certainly would have been an ugly _splat_. The apparition spell would have potentially saved her, but she wouldn't learn it for another two years. "Figured a cat analogy was the best way to get anything through that thick skull of yours."

Something flashed in those green eyes of his, and Lucy didn't like it. It wasn't something that she normally associated with the infamous Natsu Dragneel.

He'd looked hurt.

The boy quickly composed himself though and he scowled. "You _really_ wanna insult the guy that just saved your..." he trailed off, frowning as he pointed to a loose piece of parchment that had fallen to the ground during the whole exchange. "Hey, what's that?"

"Nothing special," Lucy responded, now remembering what the purple flier had been announcing as she brushed the announcement away with the toe of her shoe. "Just something or other about the Yule Ball."

"Yule Ball?" he murmured, cocking his head slightly to the side.

"Yes, the Yule Ball," Lucy said with emphasized snark.

Natsu stared at her for a moment, for once not looking as though he was searching for the next smartass comeback or thinking of a what prank spell he was going to cast on her the moment her back turned. He was just... looking.

"You hate me."

The words took her by surprise. "I-I don't... _hate_ you..."

"But you don't like me."

"Not in the slightest."

He nodded slowly, eyes finally drifting from hers. His gaze floated down to the floor, where they were still sitting, and it looked as though he had only just now noticed. In one fluid motion he was suddenly on his feet, surprising Lucy by holding out his hand for her to take.

She stared at it for a moment, long enough for Natsu to mumble, "Seriously, just take it. I'm not gonna do anything."

"What, leave your book of jinxes at home?" she asked, but only half-heartedly as she accepted his help. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his robes, still not entirely looking at her as she straightened herself and slipped her bag to it's rightful place on her shoulder.

There was a moment of tense silence as they both just stood there, until he broke it with, "See ya around, Lucy."

"Wait, Natsu..." she trailed off, biting her lip when she realized she didn't really know what to say. This was charting into unfamiliar territory with the boy, and he seemed to realize this. He gave a gracious little grin that only barely pulled at the edges of his lips.

"See ya around the common room, roomie."

She could tell his heart was only half in it, however. But she said nothing as she watched him turn and walk back in the opposite direction that she had come.

For once, the mouthy Ravenclaw had nothing to say.

* * *

 **until next time...**


	4. Chapter 4

**summary:** hogwarts!au where every so often Hogwarts calls for a "house swap" where basically one student from each House is randomly selected to spend a month amongst new housemates. Lucy Heartfilia, star pupil of Ravenclaw, has been selected to spend her time with Gryffindor, which _would_ have been okay (bearable, at least) had it not been for one boy in particular… and _what_ is it about the way he sneaks around like he does?

 **a/n: a little fairy that goes by the username shippersaurus requested a hogwarts!au for** **nalu and honestly... who am I to resist?**

 **disclaimer: I most definitely do not own a single aspect of either of these franchises**

* * *

It was a common misconception that in a classroom full of students, the Ravenclaw would be the quickest to pick up on the material. While everyone else would be struggling with rolling their tongue over the pronunciation of a new spell, or attempting a new wrist technique on how to properly flick one's wand, it was pretty much a given that the kid in blue and silver robes would happily be sitting in their seat awaiting praise for their perfectly executed technique.

But with this assumption brought on a negative stigma unfairly put on the children placed in Ravenclaw. While it was true that they were sorted there based on their wit and presumedly high intelligence, it wasn't necessarily fair to put such a high pressure on their shoulders to perform well. They were put in their House first and foremost for their _thirst_ of knowledge and their drive to find the solution to a problem. However, this didn't necessarily always transfer well into the classroom.

A student of Hogwarts would think that a Ravenclaw wouldn't take long to learn something, but one would just as quickly argue in a well-thought out essay that it depended solely on the material and the student itself and not necessarily which common room the student resided in.

However, in Lucy's case, it was an entirely reasonable assumption to make.

Lucy found herself _really_ wishing that she would start being a little more aware that karma was only too real a thing, and that her ill-thinking of any professor was going to come around and bite her in the ass at first chance- _especially_ when she went to a magic school where she could only assume that the walls were always listening.

Trewlawny had paired her and Natsu together to work on the star chart. The very same one that had caused Lucy to seek out the Divination Professor the day that had left her and said boy on very... unsteady terms.

Granted, it had only been two days and the boy had a knack for disappearing from time to time, but still. If she wasn't ready to fire off the first insult that sat on the tip of her tongue the moment she saw him, then what else was there really to say to him? Something about his expression that day had left the girl uneasy, but not in the same way it had in their first year after the potions incident.

She bit her lip at the realization that the day in potions had been the beginning of the snowball effect. And truth be told, although it pained her to admit, the whole situation really wasn't _that_ big of a deal in hindsight. If anything, Lucy might have given first year Natsu too much credit at the time... after all, there was no way that eleven year old smartass could have known that substituting rose thorns for mandrake tears would have resulted in an accidental love potion.

It had infected the _entire_ class, to the point where everyone immediately became infatuated with the Gryffindor hot-head until Snape could conjure up a quick antidote (while at the same time docking Gryffindor so many house points that it'd be a miracle if the House ever won a House Cup in the next ten years). Oddly enough the potion hadn't worked on Lucy, at least, not for long. It had made her chest feel tight and her entire body feel light, and it filled her nose with the scent of woodchips and cinnamon toothpaste.

But when she had looked at the boy and realized what was happening, she didn't find herself falling over her own feet trying to get to him as the rest of the class was. She just stood by her half-boiling caldron and watched as the class made fools of themselves, and looked at the the boy with disdain. At the time she had thought surely he had done it on purpose, to only elevate his already sky-high level of confidence.

But now, years later and with a more solid understanding of the difficulty that came with making successful love potions, Lucy wasn't so sure.

What if that day had been an accident after all, and that the beginning of their ongoing feud had been... a fluke?

Lucy shook her head, refusing to believe such as she turned her attention back to the task at hand. It was currently long past curfew as she sat in the empty common room, everyone else long having since gone to bed. The girl yawned as she turned a page in her book that she'd picked up after tossing the divination one to the side. Against her better judgment, she had tried to play nice for once and be civil, setting up a study session- _not_ a date-where they could work together on the assignment instead of avoiding each other like the plague and slapping the others name on their assignment last minute.

But, not entirely by surprise, Natsu had failed to show up.

She was just about to toss in the towel and call it a night when she heard the faint, irritated low hum of a grouchy Fat Lady being awoken past her bedtime.

Lucy sat completely still as she heard the portrait swing open and strained her ears to pick up any signs that Natsu had entered the room, but not a single floorboard creaked beneath the boy's weight.

She peaked over the back of the couch just in time to see Natsu wrinkle his nose at her-a sight that she'd grown accustomed to over the years-when he saw the book that was resting in her lap.

"Why the face?" she asked, feeling slightly offended for the title in her hands and feeling as though she should close it so that the dust jacket could block the look of disdain being shot at it from the boy's green eyes.

"No real reason," he mumbled, laying his bag down gently over the back of the couch so that it rested against Lucy's side. As he walked around the opposite end of the couch to join her, she noticed that his bag didn't create a giant divot in the cushion like hers did whenever it was full of the plethora of textbooks they were assigned per term.

Meaning, he didn't _bring_ his textbooks.

He missed the way she rolled her eyes at this realization as he slipped out of his jacket and tossed it onto the small end-table.

There was a beat of silence as the two looked at one another, where the only thing to be heard was the soft pattering of the rain on the glass windows along the far wall and the crackling of the fire that was somehow still going strong.

One beat, two… and then, "You're late."

Natsu quirked a brow at this, flopping down on the opposite end of the couch as he rested his arms behind his head. He swiped the fringe from his eyes before casting them her way and smirking. Maybe it was just the dim lighting, but something about that smirk that Lucy had long since familiarized herself with was missing some of its boyish charm.

Maybe the firelight was just making him seem older, or maybe it had just been a while since Lucy _really_ noticed him.

Maybe she never really had.

If the boy noticed her eyes slightly widen in alarm at her own realization, he didn't let on. He was too busy settling in to the cushions as he mumbled, "Am I? I didn't know you were expecting me."

"We talked about it this morning before breakfast. I _told_ you Trewlawny paired us up for this star…" she trailed off, eyes zeroing in on the bag that was still partially resting against her bare thigh. "Did… did your bag just purr?"

Natsu simply nodded.

"You're not, like, gonna offer any explanation?"

He shrugged, but Lucy could see that he was slowly starting to lose some of the tension in his shoulders. Natsu always did seem at his most comfortable when he was messing with her. "Do you _want_ an explanation, Heart?"

"One _would_ be appreciated."

The corners of his lips pulled back into a grin that, in Lucy's eyes, registered as nothing but 'smartass'.

"After curfew's the only time I can sneak him out without anyone seeing," he finally replied, leaning forwards and unzipping the bag the rest of the way. Only one short second passed before a furry blue head popped up from the midst of what looked to be an extra set of robes and a dirty, white button-down.

"Why is it a big deal if anyone sees him?" she asked, setting her book aside as Natsu dropped the bag to the ground once the feline hopped out. "Pantherlily practically _lives_ under Gajeel's feet, even outside the dorms."

Lucy stuck her hand out, allowing the little guy to sniff her fist before the feline nudged her knuckles so that she would open her hand. He happily accepted her request to pet him as he nuzzled his face into her open palm.

"I have my reasons," the boy shrugged. While his grin was now small, it was genuine as he watched the two, his eyes not leaving Lucy's hand. She watched his expression carefully through her lashes, pretending to be interested in the feline's blue fur as she carefully regarded the cat's owner.

The way he was staring at her hand, almost as if waiting for something to happen.

She suddenly gasped when the cat purred and slowly unfurled its wings and stretched. Lucy's eyes widened. The cat had wings.

"You have an Exceed," she all but breathed, in awe of seeing a creature first hand that she'd only ever read about.

"Yeah, he's pretty okay," the small grin on his face was the most gentle Lucy had ever seen the boy, and it made her smile on the inside to see that all it took was a cat to bring out this side of him.

She continued to stroke the cat under the chin before thinking to ask it's name.

"Happy," he replied, a light flush appearing on his cheeks that was hardly visible amongst the shadows that the fire was casting on them. "I, uh... I named him when I was pretty young. It just kinda stuck."

"Happy," she repeated, unable to help the smile that broke out when the little guy cocked his head at the sound of his name. "You're such a smart little kitty, aren't you?"

"Hey now, no baby talk around him. He's too mature for that," but his teasing was all in good fun, and even his tone was smooth as silk; voice low and the occasional crackle that rivaled the fire's. Almost as if there was a soft rumble forming in his chest as his eyes seemed to grow heavy.

She watched his eyes slip shut, her hand lost in the cat's fur as it flopped onto it's back so that she could rub its belly.

Studying seemed to be a lost cause for the night, but surprisingly, the Ravenclaw found herself more content without.


End file.
